Holly Willoughby was reduced to tears as she paid tribute to Denise Robertson live on television today (01.04.16).
The ‘This Morning’ presenter struggled to hold back her tears as she remembered the late agony aunt – who joined the breakfast show in 1989 – following her tragic death.
Speaking on the show through a video link, Holly – who is currently on holiday – said: "I found out [about Denise’s death] yesterday. She was a huge part of the family. When I joined ‘This Morning’ she welcomed me with open arms.
"Whatever she did on screen was the tip of the iceberg really as she continued to help people and do so much behind the scenes that nobody saw.
"She was a fighter for everybody. There was nothing that she wouldn’t do. And it’s just so sad. As soon as we heard the news, you hope and you wish that she’s going to be alright but in the back of your mind you’re very worried, very scared. It never ever prepares you for a loss like this."
And Holly, 35, wasn’t the only one to call in to the studio to pay her respects to the late TV legend as Fern Britton – who worked with Denise on the mid-morning show from 1999 until 2009 – encouraged viewers to make a cup of tea, Denise’s favourite, in memory of the agony aunt.
She said: "She loved a pot of tea and not only did she love the tea she loved a glass of wine. She’s a woman I very very much admired and one that I’ll never forget as a friend and a beautiful women and as a proper strong feminist women that we would all like to aspire to be.
"She is never going to be forgotten and now we can all talk to her in our prayers and in our dreams and she will answer our prayers and dreams you know."
And Judy Finnigan – who hosted ‘This Morning’ from 1988 until 2001 with her husband Richard Madeley – added: "She was incredibly self-assured. She was absolutely 100 per cent genuine. She was full of good words and good faith and I was ever so shocked at how hard she worked off the screen. She would do a phone-in on screen but off screen she would be on the phone for the rest of the day to people who had horrendous problems.
"She would never give up in them and she would work with them for absolutely ages. She was just a fantastic agony aunt and the best of her generation without doubt."
Denise sadly lost her battle with an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer yesterday (31.03.16).
Holly Willoughby pays tribute to Denise Robertson
